


Rise and Fall

by Shaybot



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, This really should have been re-written, but here we are, for real, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27318514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaybot/pseuds/Shaybot
Summary: In which we get a extension of Claude's S-support because we deserve it.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan, byleth - Relationship
Kudos: 27





	Rise and Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this whole thing was written a long time ago and I've edited it very little. Not my best work, but I wanted to post something and nothing else I have is ready. I do have plenty in the works, though, so hopefully you look forward to it!

In the weeks and months following the coronation, the professor's students noticed a rapid change in her demeanor. It was as if she was reverting back to the stony faced mercenary they had met all those years ago. She went about her duties, organizing supply lines, holding counsel, all the things a new country needs in its infancy, but her face held no joy. Eventually the students went back to their own lives, returning to their families and responsibilities all around the country. Still the professor did what she had to, doing her best to keep the spirits of her people up while she herself felt as if her heart were hundreds of miles away. On calm nights, when she was unable to sleep, she walked the monastery to try and wash away her worries and sadness. Inevitably, she would wind up back in the classroom, standing in the door, remembering happier times. When the rebellions broke out, several months after the coronation, she again found herself in the golden deer classroom late one night. Steeling herself, she walked across the stone floor and approached the heavy wooden desk. She removed the sword from her hip, sat it and herself on the desk and briefly visualised a sun lit room full of familiar faces smiling brightly. Sighing heavily, she stared down at the ring in her hand, a glittering reminder of the one she missed so dearly. As tears pricked her eyes, she clenched her hand around the ring, slamming the fist onto the tabletop beside her. The sound rang through the silent night like cannon fire and moments later she could hear multiple pairs of footsteps in the distance. The professor stood and spun, back facing the door as tears spilled down her pale cheeks. If they had invaded in force, there was not much use in fighting back. She could take out some of them, but her scouts had reported that their army was massive. she was foolish to come out here on her own, but she had been suffocating in the towers over the monastery. Cursing herself, she fusriously wiped at her face with her sleeve, ring still in hand. She pictured his face again, like so many times before, just as it was the day before the coronation when he left, full of sadness and confidence. Confidence in the two of them and their dreams for the future. But she was never meant for this; she was a killer, not a ruler. He should have known better; they both should have. She should have refused, given this responsibility to someone else and followed him, whether he liked it or not.

The footsteps were getting very close now, soft voices could be heard, but not distinguished. The professor gripped the sword laying on the desk, not completely resigned to dying without a fight. She was, after all, a killer. As the voices got closer, she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears still streaming down her face. When she heard the footsteps approach the door to the room, she spun around, swinging the whip-like blade with a furious cry. She was furious at the invaders for ruining the short lived peace they had worked so hard for, at him for leaving her to this monumental task all on her own, but mostly at herself for becoming so vulnerable in the first place.

As the glowing blade reached the doorway, it's light shone on the startled faces of her students, deftly dodging the blades thrown their way. She froze, breath caught in her chest, unsure if she should be happy, mad, or humiliated to be seen in such a state by those that looked up to her before. In the end, she was merely overcome with exhaustion and relief, and she dropped the blade as she fell to her knees, tears flowing once again. Her face fell and she noticed the ring, lying just next to her, fallen from her hand in her moment of panic and rage. She picked it up, sniffling as she slipped it onto her finger again, and held her hand over her still heart. 

They approached their professor cautiously, unsure how to console the inconsolable. She needed support and time, they were sure of that, but they were also sure that they couldn't afford to give her much of either. The enemy was closing in on the monastery and they had come to fight alongside her again. Gingerly, they explained the escalating situation to their professor and ruler, hoping to rouse some bit of stubborn strength from her. As they went on, she kept staring at the ground they were all sitting on, silently trying to compose herself before she spoke.

When they finished, she was silent for a moment longer, before she gripped the sword before her and stood at the front of the classroom once more. One thing was clear, her people needed her to be strong, or they would lose everything. She began giving out orders to rouse the generals and knights stationed at the monastery. they would need all the strength they could muster. She then began her march towards the main gate, to view the enemy with her own eyes.

~*~

The battle had been raging since sunrise and they were losing ground, inch by inch. comrades were falling around her, but she fell just as many of the enemy on her own. when the fight looked just about lost, a cry was heard in the distance. She tried to ignore it and tell herself that she was hearing things. She needed to focus on not dying on the doorstep of the capital. Again, there was a screech, closer now, and unmistakably the roar of a wyvern. She couldn't stop herself from looking away, towards the horizon. And there he was, rising above the melee on a resplendent white wyvern, wielding a bow of bone, flying over all of them in her direction.

This moment of distraction was all the enemy needed. A searing pain exploded in her side. She screamed and the world went black.

It was as if time itself had slowed. When he heard her, he urged his mount into a dive, leaping from the huge animal and catching her before she hit the ground. He lifted her up, whispering words of encouragement as he vaulted back into the saddle. Her eyes opened briefly before falling into unconsciousness. The great beast beneath them gave several strained wing beats before raising up and over the monastery walls. 

~*~

When she regained consciousness, she was laying in the infirmary, ears ringing and head spinning. The light from the window was painfully bright through her eyelids. Slowly, she became aware of more of her surroundings; the soft pillow under her aching head, searing pain in her side, and a soft pressure around her left hand. Opening her eyes, she saw a white curtain pulled around the bed and slumped in a chair next to her was a man she had previously assumed was just the hallucination of her sleep deprived and adrenaline filled mind.

"Claude Von Riegan, how dare you," she croaked, attempting a smirk, "flying in here all resplendent and heroic. Look what you did." She tried to laugh, but it made her chest ache.

His head shot up, grip tightening on her hand, eyes wide. He was frozen for a second, long enough to confirm he wasn't still asleep. Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in, he spoke, "I thought I had returned just to lose you again." Bowing his head, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.

"Oh come on," she lifted his head to face her, "you should know I'm too stubborn to die all alone on a battlefield like that." She took a long moment to admire his face before turning to the window with a frown, "How long have I been up here? Is the fighting over?"

He shook his head and gave a tired chuckle, "You've been awake for all of 2 minutes and your mind is already back on the battlefield. Please," he looked straight into her eyes, quietly begging, "rest. recover. You were almost killed, for goddess' sake." 

With a shallow sigh, she placed her hand on his cheek, "I am aware, my dear, but those are my people out there and they are dying. Don't think me stupid enough to imagine I can go back out there, but if I still have a country to rule over, I need to know. You were the one who put this on me, you cannot blame me for just trying to do my best."

He pulled his chair closer, blocking her view of the outside somewhat, "The fighting is over. We were able to drive them off. I've sent scouts to follow them, find out where they're hiding, make sure they don't try and come back." He paused, quietly savoring the feeling of her warm hand on his cheek before whispering "I heard you scream and I was so scared. I was sure I was going to find you dead." he closed his eyes and took her hand in his again.

For a long moment, she was silent, scanning his face. There were faint traces of tears, his skin slightly mottled, that she somehow hadn't noticed before. His mouth was pulled into a thin, anxious line. "Claude," she whispered, "I'm ok. I'm right here, still breathing. Please, look at me." She took her hand back, lifting his face to look at her. Her tired, concerned face was torture after so many months apart, but he drank in every inch of it. "I cannot describe to you how happy I am to have you beside me again." A small smile broke on her battle worn face, "I knew when you left that this was something you had to do. I couldn't bring myself to stop you. I knew my home needed someone to lead them to peace as well, so I could not follow you either. But I swear, Claude, if you have to go back to almyra, nothing can keep me from going with you. I can't do it again, worrying the whole time about whether or not i would ever see you again. I found myself sinking away from the humanity you brought out of me all those years ago. I can't go back to that part of myself. You keep me away from it."

Claude stood, chair screeching as he pushed it back, and knelt by the bed, wrapping her in a tight hug, "I promise, I will never leave you alone again. I did what I had to to bring peace to my homeland, but I never truly felt like I was home. I missed you so much."

She wrapped one arm over his back, burying her face in his shoulder to hide joyful tears falling down her cheeks, "I missed you, too."


End file.
